This weekend, Disney’s remake of kids’ classic The Jungle Book swings into cinemas, directed by Jon Favreau and featuring an all-star cast.
The Jungle Book tells the timeless story of a young orphan, Mowgli, who is raised in the jungle by a group of animals, including a black panther, a bear and a pack of wolves. When he is forced to leave the only home he has ever known, he must travel through the jungle, learning a number of life lessons during a journey of self-discovery.
Starring big names such as Bill Murray, Idris Elba, Christopher Walken, Ben Kingsley and Scarlett Johansson, The Jungle Book has attracted rave reviews for its performances and stunning visuals – most of which were created using CGI. Here’s our pick of other great Blu-rays featuring eye-popping virtual worlds:
Avatar
Avatar doesn’t hold the title of the world’s highest grossing film for no reason. Director James Cameron’s epic sci-fi adventure stars Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana and Sigourney Weaver, who play a group of marines who are dispatched to a distant moon called Pandora, tasked with clearing the native population for mining purposes. Worthington plays Jake Sully, a paraplegic who makes a deal to work for the military, gathering secrets about the native Na’vi race in exchange for surgery which will save his legs.
The movie is available as an extended edition three-disc Blu-ray set, featuring three cuts of the film and two discs of special features, including deleted scenes, a documentary about Cameron’s environmental activism, and various other features and galleries. If you have a 3D TV, check out the Blu-ray 3D version!
Life of Pi
Ang Lee’s stunning Life of Pi tells the life story of Pi Patel, who was forced to sail from India to Canada with a boat full of animals from the family zoo. When a freak storm occurs and sinks the ship, killing his family, Pi escapes with only an orangutan, a hyena, a zebra and a Bengal tiger for company. As the group fight for survival in the middle of the ocean, Pi begins to question what separates him from the animals as he longs for human contact.
Life of Pi is filled with awe-inspiring animation which looks stunning in high-definition Blu-ray. It also comes with a number of bonus extras, including an hour-long four-part journey through the making of the film, a look at the visual effects, and a collection of images and storyboards.
Sin City
Sin City is the noir adaptation of four of Frank Miller’s famous comics, all set in the fictional Basin City. Starring huge names such as Bruce Willis, Jessica Alba, Clive Owen, Mickey Rourke, Brittany Murphy and Elijah Wood, the film explores the stories of four iconic characters, all of whom are lost souls in a city full of corruption.
The movie is undoubtedly one of the most visually striking comic book adaptations to hit the big screen, and looks stunning on high-definition Blu-ray. You can get the film as part of a two-disc box set, which contains the first film and its sequel – Sin City 2: A Dame to Kill For – which offers viewers a look at the events before and after the first film.
